Jared Mauldin, a student in engineering, wrote a letter to his female classmates this week about how their accomplishments in the program aren't equal to his — and his forthright honesty is earning him some surprising Internet accolades.

"I did not, for example, grow up in a world that discouraged me from focusing on hard science," he wrote. "Nor did I live in a society that told me not to get dirty, or said I was bossy for exhibiting leadership skills. In grade school I never had to fear being rejected by my peers because of my interests."

"I was not bombarded by images and slogans telling me that my true worth was in how I look, and that I should abstain from certain activities because I might be thought too masculine."

Going on in that vein, Mauldin ends: "When I experience success the assumption of others will be that I earned it. So, you and I cannot be equal. You have already conquered far more to be in this field than I will ever face."

"An interesting side effect of this letter is that while I had no idea what it felt like to experience any of the stuff women do before I wrote this letter, and I still have no idea what it feels like to experience it 'as a woman,' it has been an enlightening experience to have my motives, intelligence, sexuality, character, and goals dictated to me by other men," Mauldin told the Journal.

Jared Mauldin, a student in engineering, wrote a letter to his female classmates this week about how their accomplishments in the program aren't equal to his — and his forthright honesty is earning him some surprising Internet accolades.